Boo and I went to Alton Towers for the Halloween Scarefest.
We had a great day but the queues were huge, which given we usually go midweek when there’s no one else around came as a bit of a shock. (80 minutes was the longest time) That said, I don’t think we were as long waiting as these guys had been on the ride…. 
Boo and I did a bargain bagging day out at Bicester Shopping Village.
He bought me a mahooosive DKNY handbag for the fabulous knockdown price of £68 instead of £175, leaving me with the challenge of locating a bigger bargain.
After much mooching around all the big designer names I finally found myself in the ToyWatch store and after Boo pointed it out to me, I fell instantly in love with an epic watch. Totally bling for me and awesomely discounted at £65 instead of £285.
So now after the epic win shoes I bought in the summer, my wardrobe is very carefully being constructed of total win.
Painting a stark picture of modern day India, this is a great story of one boys efforts to rise out of the darkness of where he was born.
Balram Halwai, the eponymous ‘white tiger’, is a diminutive, overweight ex-teashop worker who now earns his living as a chauffeur. But this is only one side of his protean personality; he deals in confidence scams, over-ambitious business promotions (built on the shakiest of foundations) and enjoys approaching life with a philosophical turn of mind. But is Balram also a murderer? We learn the answer as we devour these 500 odd pages. Born into an impoverished family, Balram is removed from school by his parents in order to earn money in a thankless job: shop employee. He is forced into banal, mind-numbing work. But Balram dreams of escaping — and a chance arises when a well-heeled village landlord takes him on as a chauffeur for his son (although the duties involve transporting the latter’s wife and two Pomeranian dogs). From the rich new perspective offered to him in this more interesting job, Balram discovers New Delhi, and a vision of the city changes his life forever. His learning curve is very steep, and he quickly comes to believe that the way to the top is by the most expedient means. And if that involves committing the odd crime of violence, he persuades himself that this is what successful people must do.
What do you get when you put the above in a small studio, throw in a piano, a double bass and some drums, then put it all in front of an audience of around 35?
One awesome jazz night, three hours of blissful sound, and barely an open eye in the house.
Journey with Jack, as he finds himself becoming increasingly isolated during his meteorological Arctic expedition. Sit beside him as the short summer days move quickly towards the unending night of winter. Walk with him as he struggles to ensure his expedition remains a success. Feel the loneliness take hold as he battles the demons of the dark.
You won’t want to read this one alone at night.
Result: – Go get it now.
Out of nowhere, for no reason, I was afraid. My skin prickled. My heart thudded in my throat. My body knew before I did that I was not alone…
London, 1937. Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life, so when he’s offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway, and at last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year.
But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. Soon Jack will see the last of the sun, the sea will freeze and escape will be impossible.
And Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark…
I have to admit to making a bit of a mistake when I bought this book. What I thought I was buying, was another book by the author of Spider Light, Sarah Rayne. I’d missed the extra ‘r’ in the name, so instead I got this, One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner, an almost polar opposite of what I was actually looking for in the book store that day.
Still, never being one to let any such things put me off, I chose to read this book, as a change of pace to my usual reading, and it was fantastic to break away from the crime genre I tend to prefer.
This book is so well written I defy any one to find an aspect of the characters that they cannot identify with. For me they were staggeringly huge parts, for some I’ve discussed the book with they were far more subtle, but everyone found something. That said this story despite it’s subject doesn’t scream or shout at you, but takes you carefully, sensitively and thought provokingly along the journey’s of Karen, Lou and Anna as they deal with the aftermath of the train trip to London.
Result:- Buy it now.
The Brighton to London line. The 07:44 train. Carriages packed with commuters. A woman applies her make-up. Another occupies her time observing the people around her. A husband and wife share an affectionate gesture. Further along, a woman flicks through a glossy magazine. Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can’t be resuscitated; the train is stopped, an ambulance called.
For at least three passengers on the 07:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again. Lou witnesses the man’s final moments.
Anna and Lou share a cab when they realise the train is going nowhere fast. Anna is Karen’s best friend. And Karen? Karen’s husband is the man who dies.
Telling the story of the week following that fateful train journey, One Moment, One Morning is a stunning novel about love and loss, about family and – above all – friendship. A stark reminder that, sometimes, one moment is all it takes, it also reminds us that somehow, and despite everything, life can and does go on.
I love book festivals, but they do have an alarming tendency to add to the ever increasing TBR pile. These are the handful of little lovelies that were added over the course of the weekend in Brighton. I’m beginning to think I may need another bookshelf.
Dust by Joan Frances Turner
Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane
Picus the Thief by Robin Bennett
The Crown of the Blood by Gav Thorpe
Along with
Every Which Way But Dead and The Good, The Bad and The Undead, both by Kim Harrison
"I would that my camera had the speed of your tongue..."
My blog is about ME and my view on the world. Always entertaining, often interesting!
